It's Okay

Trying to choose my favorite moment with my granddaughters over the last couple of weeks is like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack ... there were simply too many adorable and funny and touching moments. Cute baby smiles from little Amelie or her tiny head resting on my shoulder or her chubby legs kicking like crazy when I changed her diaper or the sound of her hiccups when her tummy was full of milk ... those moments were so sweet and so precious that I couldn't possibly choose just one to claim as my favorite. Coraline and her hilarious snort laughing when I would tickle her or say something she deemed giggle worthy or the sound of her singing at the top of her lungs or her riding the runner bike or putting me in time out or swiping all my coins for her piggy bank or the feel of her hand in mine as we crossed a street or the smell of her hair when she snuggled close to me as I read book after book after book to her ... there's no way I could ever say one moment with her was better than any other because every second I spent with her was truly amazing.

I must say there was one thing my little Boo said to me multiple times during my stay that totally melted my heart every single time she said it ... "It's okay, Ghee." Whether I was truly in pain because she had just done a full body slam on my lower back or I was pretending to be hurt when her imaginary dragon Tick had breathed fire on my neck ... whether I really was tearing up from the sadness of knowing my time with her was far too short or I was fake crying when we played princess stuff ... not a word, friends, not one word about me playing princess stuff ... true pain or pretend, real tears or fake, Coraline would pat me and hug me and say, "It's okay, Ghee." Though I am certain that her desire to comfort or console me was genuine, it didn't mean that she stopped jumping on my back or Tick ceased his fire-breathing shenanigans or my sadness of only seeing her for a few days disappeared or I was released from all things princess. What her sweet pats and hugs and "It's okay, Ghee" words did do was make me wish with all my might that my darling Coraline would never have to experience pain or hurt or sadness or loneliness ... it made me wish that she would forever be okay.

By the time I got home last night, I was bone tired; in fact, I was so tired when my flight departed from Edmonton in the early morning hours that I promptly fell asleep after the plane was airborne ... yep, you read that correctly, I slept on the plane and the guy sitting next to me woke me up when we landed. Ollie and Julie were extremely happy to see me, so much so that they were content to hit the sack with me much earlier than we normally do and sleep in way past the time we normally rise. Today was spent doing all the stuff you have to do when you return home after a lengthy time away ... unpacking, mowing the yard, going through a big stack of mail, paying bills and doing laundry. While those aren't things I usually enjoy doing, today I was thankful for things to keep both my body and my mind busy so I didn't spend a good portion of my day crying like I did yesterday. Every time that ache of missing my granddaughters started creeping through my heart, I would whisper the words, "It's okay, Ghee ... it's okay."

Stepping away from the daily routine of life from time to time is good for the soul ... it's often a time of reevaluating what is important and what really matters most, at least it is for me anyway. Sometimes that's a difficult thing to do ... stepping away, reevaluating, taking an honest look at where I am or why I am or who I am or how I am. I've done a lot of thinking and contemplating over the last couple of weeks (when I wasn't swaying and singing to baby Amelie or playing princess stuff with Coraline) ... a whole, whole, whole lot, and I'm sure that some of my ponderings will eventually make their way into a future post or two or twenty. But for tonight ... for tonight, I think I'll just remind myself of the wise words of an extra-special two-year-old ... 

"It's okay, Ghee ... it's okay."